Square kilometre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:

• 1,000,000 m²
• 100 ha (hectare)

Conversely:

• 1 m² = 0.000 001 (10⁻⁶) km²
• 1 hectare = 0.01 (10⁻²) km²
• 1 square mile = 2.589 988 km²
• 1 acre = 0.004 047 km², 0.404 7 ha or 4047 m²

Note: "km²" means (km)², square kilometre or kilometre squared, and not k(m²), kilo–square metre. For example, 3 km² is equal to 3 × (1,000 m)² = 3,000,000 m², not 3,000 m².

[edit] Comparative order

The 10⁶ m² orders of magnitude page gives comparisons with geographic areas.

A hectare (10⁴ m²) is less than a square kilometer which is less than a square megametre (10¹² m²).

[edit] Source

• Conversion Factors. MINFILE Coding Manual. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. Government of British Columbia. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.

[edit] See also

Conversion of units. SI prefix for the precise meaning of the prefix "k"

Square Kilometre Array, a proposed radio telescope which is intended to have a collecting area of approximately one square kilometre.